United States: According to a recent study, people who use fish oil supplements on the regular basis may not be benefiting their health as much as they may believe. Sometimes it depends on the body type as well like it suits you or not and researchers have discovered that the people who regularly use fish oil are more vulnerable for getting a heart attack and issues related to heart.
Study Reveals Mixed Health Impacts
According to recent research, those with good heart health may be more susceptible to stroke and heart disease if they regularly use fish oil supplements.
Although the long term study suggests that the fish oil can help those whose hearts are already in trouble and suffering, potentially showing the progression of heart problems and lowering the risk of death.
Increased Risks for Healthy Individuals
Researchers discovered that using fish oil supplements increased the incidence of atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm issue that raises the risk of heart attack and stroke, by 13% in healthy individuals.
The data also indicate a 5% greater risk of stroke for them.
“Due to the unknown cardiovascular benefits and side effects, we recommend caution when using fish oil supplements for primary prevention,” the research team, which was headed by Dr. Hualiang Lin, an epidemiologist at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China, wrote.
Benefits for Those with Heart Disease
However, frequent use of fish oil reduced the risk of a heart attack owing to atrial fibrillation by 15% and the chance of fatal heart failure by 9% in people who already had heart disease.
“ Regular use of fish and oil supplements might have different roles in the progression of the cardiovascular disease,” which is based on the whether someone already has heart problems this study is suggested by the researchers.
Depending on whether a person already has heart issues, “regular use of fish oil supplements might have different roles in the progression of cardiovascular disease,” the researchers proposed.
Expert Opinions on Fish Oil Usage
Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver, told CNN that “generally, I would say that the days where people just go to the store and buy buckets of fish oil pills to keep them well should be over, but fish oil may still have a role in people who are already sick.”
Director of research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Boca Raton, Florida and neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson told CNN that “the devil is in the details” when it comes to fish oil.
“We first advise measuring your omega-3 fatty acid levels; you can purchase accurate finger-prick tests online. After that, you should keep testing.” If you don’t need fish oil, you shouldn’t take it, he emphasized.
Sardines and wild-caught salmon are the finest sources of omega-3 fatty acids, according to Isaacson, who also suggested obtaining them through diet. Because of contaminants in the water they are produced in, he said, farm-bred salmon is not the best option.
Omega 3 fatty acids, which are believed to support heart and brain function, are still abundant in fish oil. Accordingly, health professionals advise using fish oil supplements or eating oily fish like salmon at least once a week, according to background notes from researchers.
Ongoing Research Needed
The researchers used data from around 416,000 participants in a large-scale health study conducted in the United Kingdom, ranging in age from 40 to 69. Between 2006 and 2010, a survey was conducted with this population to get basic health data, such as their normal diet and supplement use.
32% of respondents claimed to routinely take fish oil supplements.
After that, the study team monitored the subjects’ health for an average of over 12 years to determine how many have died nad developed the heart problems or suffered a stroke.
The results were released in the BMJ Medicine journal on May 21.
The researchers wrote in a journal news release that “further studies are needed” to determine why fish oil could not be beneficial for healthy individuals but beneficial for those with heart issues.